


Feather Fall

by LucidDreaming



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fairy Tale Curses, Fairy Tale Elements, I blame teammompike, swan lake AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2017-02-09
Packaged: 2018-09-13 10:42:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9120103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucidDreaming/pseuds/LucidDreaming
Summary: Vex wasn't sure why there was a swan in the middle of winter in Whitestone and she wasn't entirely sure why the hell it turned into a man. But she was eager to find out.





	1. Act 1, Scene 1

The road to Whitestone, Vex decided, was boring. Nearly a week of non-stop travelling and their carriage driver had only just said that they were almost there. She wasn’t exactly sure what would kill her first, the boredom or motion sickness –she didn’t even knew she had motion sickness. Vax wasn’t doing much better either.

Thankfully their banter had kept them the slightest bit entertained. Their mutual hatred for the entire situation probably didn’t help their moods but atleast they could depend on each other if they had to curse out loud.

The considerably smooth road gave way to cobblestone and Vex woke up from a nap she didn’t know she was taking. Across from her, Vax was rubbing his head and groaning. The weather had gone colder too, the true sign that they had arrived.

Vex pulled the small curtains of the carriage and peaked outside. She could see the forest around Whitestone, covered in snow, and she could also see Whitestone itself, also covered in snow. It wasn’t a huge city but it seemed cozy. There were few villagers dressed in multiple layers going on with their days.

“Is that the tree Keyleth healed?” she pointed to the giant tree that emerged from what Vex guessed as the city center.

“Yeah.” Vax said. “It’s huge.”

“When is she supposed to be here?” she asked and her twin gave a small grin.

“Technically, she’s supposed to arrive two days later.”

“Technically.”

“Technically.”

Vex smiled as well and looked back out the window to the forest. She was already missing Trinket and couldn’t wait to hug him again.

After a few more minutes the carriage stopped. Their driver, a young boy with few missing fingers, opened the door for them as city guards started carrying their bags. The Castle stood tall over the city but Vex had to admit it wasn’t terribly big. A proud structure ofcourse, made of thick walls to survive the winter and not exactly pretty.

She glanced at her brother and he shrugged. There wasn’t much they could do after this point. Standing as close as they could, they followed one of the servants. Inside the castle was warmer but it lacked…humanity, Vex decided. It hadn’t been that long since the de Rolo tragedy and she could still almost sense it. A lack of rest was in the air, constantly reminding what had happened.

The servant lead them to a door and knocked, opening the door when a faint noise called. Twins entered silently. It was a study and behind the desk was Lady Delilah Briarwood.

“Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan.” She said sweetly, a smile on her red lips. “Are you hungry? Do you need anything?”

The woman had rather pale skin, small but carried herself with elegance that Vex had yet to learn. Her hair was tied up, revealing her long neck. She seemed kind, Vex immeadiately found herself thinking. Kind and sweet.

“If it’s not too much of a trouble, my lady.” Vax said. “We haven’t had a meal since…I suppose last evening.”

“I’ll make sure you get proper lunch, fast.” She said and nodded towards the servant that had lead them there. “I know you’re tired so I will try to make this as fast as I can, please, take a seat. You must be tired.”

Vex found herself smiling as she sat down. The castle and Whitestone itself was cold but Lady Briarwood had a warmth that clashed with it all.

“We still have a few more days before the feast and I am truly grateful for your presence.” She started. “I know Syngorn is quite a ways away. I also have to admit your father sent me a private letter.”

Twins sighed. They could guess what the letter might have said. It was more embarrasing than annoying at this point.

“Sadly I do no have any children,” Lady Briarwood started, casting her eyes to the wooden table before looking back up at them. “But I can imagine it wouldn’t be right to do what your father asked of me without letting you know.”

“Did he ask for you to play match-maker?” Vex asked, already knowing the answer. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright.” She replied. “He did ask for that, yes. We’ve quite a many on our guest list that he thought would be a proper partner. However I also can see that you are not very happy about the idea.”

“Yes.” They both answered without thinking.

“So I thought that we could pretend.” Lady Briarwood said, smiling. “Your father won’t be here, we can pretend that I tried to find both of you fair partners. But I suppose fate is not always on our side.” She finished with faux-sadness before smiling back at them.

Vex couldn’t help smiling. She had only known this woman for a minute and already she liked her more than anyone else in Syngorn. Next to her Vax was laughing.

“Is it possible for us to stay here forever?” he joked.

“I can look into that if you’d like.” Lady Briarwood joked back. “Now that that is out of the way, Vex’ahlia, we hear many a tale of your ranger abilities and your love for forests.”

“I assume not nice stories then.” She added.

Syngorn and all the noble houses of it, weren’t a big fan of her love for bow and arrow. Unlady-like, they deemed it. Which only made Vex do it more often. There weren’t any forests back there, which meant she had to, well, take surprise trips in the middle of the night and come back a week later.

“Noble houses can make any hobby a work of devil.” She replied. “You are more than welcomed to roam our forest. I don’t think there are anything to hunt and it is very cold this time of the year but do not be afraid to go out as you wish.”

Vex smiled widely, “Thank you very much, my Lady.”

“It’s nothing big.” She then turned to Vax. “I’d rather not have my people robbed, if you don’t mind?”

“I can assure you nothing will go missing.” He said with a nod. “Now go, rest, eat. My husband is too busy with the other big houses right now but you’ll meet him eventually.”

They both got up and gave their bow and curtsy before following a different servant to their rooms. They smiled widely all the way, smacking each other on the arm because holy shit this was so much better than what they thought would happen.

“She’s so nice.” She said as they ate.

“It makes sense why the de Rolo’s would leave this place to them.” Vax replied. “Do you think there are ghosts here?”

“Don’t be silly, brother.”

“It would be cool though.”

“It really would be.”

“I’m going to take a nap, when I’m done eating.” He said. “I really want to sleep on something that’s not the back of a carriage or a shity inn. You?”

Oh how did Vex yearn for a proper bed, warm and soft and cozy. After days of travelling her back was starting to ache.

“Later.” She said. “I have forest I can visit whenever I please.” She said, giddy.

Once she was done with her meal she gave her brother a hug and ran back to her room. She took off her pretty traveling dress (she hated the damn thing and the tailor who had made it for her.) and into her trusty ranger clothes. Vax had given her an extra cloak to keep warm and, although it looked a bit ridicilous to wear two cloaks on top of each other, she had to admit it was warmer. She also liked the idea of her brother being with her.

She took her bow and arrows with her even though she didn’t plan on hunting anything. But incase she wandered too far or a beast showed up, it was nice to have some weapons on her. Making sure she had everything in place she left the castle, then ran back in and told a servant to tell the Briarwoods and her brother to not worry if she didn’t come back in time. She then took a direction from a guard as to where was the easiest entry to forest and left for good.

She spent a few hours trying to find marks to follow and altough it was hard to find signs of anything at first, the deeper she went the easier it became. It also helped that the marks weren’t exactly hidden, not to mention how easy the snow made her job.

Finally, finally she found the owner of the marks. She crouched down, surveying the area to make sure there were no traps. She put her arrow back on her shoulder and dashed forward.

And she slipped on ice, magnificantly.

Luckily the fall hadn’t hurt her much but it had definitely taken out the sneaking aspect of her attack. Not to mention, she was sitting on her ass in the middle of snow, very much in the open. Vax, she knew, would be laughing like a maniac had he seen her.

A smelly breathe and a wet lip found their way on her fact. On instinct, she hugged the big furry creature, digging her fingers into his fur.

“Trinket, buddy.” She coo’ed. “I missed you so much.”

The big bear growled back, nearly pushing her back. Trinket sometimes forgot how big he really was and Vex knew that her treating him as if he were a lap dog didn’t help. She pushed herself up and hugged him even tighter.

“Let’s have fun, yeah?” she asked and her answer was a smelly lick across her face. She screwed up her features and nodded. “Yep, that’s- let’s go.”

So, they spent the next few hours playing and running around aimlessly. Sometimes they would stop and search for any animal tracks but would come empty. They also searched for a safe and warm place for Trinket so stay as she couldn’t take him back to the city. They decided that a small cave hidden by tree’s was the best bet. And before they noticed, it was dark and cold.

They were sitting in the cave by the small fire Vex had made, having a conversation. She didn’t want to go back and leave her companion all alone but she also knew she had no other option. As nice as Lady Briarwood was she doubted that she’d allow a bear to roam her city.

“I suppose it’s time for me to go.” She said once the embers of the fire died. Trinket whined and it pulled the strings of her heart. “I know buddy, I know.”

She hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry. But we’ll go home soon okay?”

Trinket whined againt but stayed put. “And I will come-“ she cut herself short when she heard rustling outside.

Trinket immediately froze aswell, waiting for a command from her. She put her finger to her lips and sneaked out. Silently, she grabbed her bow and notched an arrow. She listened carefully, following the noise in the otherwise silent forest.

Sneaking in the snow was trickier than she thought but she managed exceptionally well. She hid behind a tree truck and listened more. She could picture in her mind where the creature was. She took a breathe, a second one, a third one and then swiftly she turned around and aimed.

A swan.

It was a swan.

The creature making the noise was a swan, standing across from her next to another tree, digging something with it’s beak.

She lowered the bow, mouth left hanging, and rolled her eyes.

She was such an idiot.A fucking swan.

She almost shot a swan.

A swan.

She furrowed her brows and crouched, watching the bird.

Vex was no expert on birds, other than rather basic things. The only flying creature she had information on was dragons and there weren’t any in Whitestone, she would have known. But she was also sure that there weren’t supposed to be any swans in here, especially in the winter.

She must have made a noise or the swan must have sensed her, it looked up and then flew off. Vex sighed, seeing her breathe infront of her face. She whistled for Trinket and started following the bird, out of pure curiosity. It hadn’t looked injured and it could certainly fly, so there must have been a reason for it to be here.

Tracking a flying white bird, in snow, in a forest, at night…it proved to be a challenge. However, Vex was on a mission and she would find that damn bird and why it was still here. She must have followed it for two hours or so but it had paid off.

She found herself further away from the city, next to a lake. It wasn’t frozen over, which surprised her more than the swan. It also wasn’t terribly big. There was a building nearby, or more like what was left of a building.

Silently, with Trinket following her, she inspected the building. It didn’t seem that old but at the same time it was covered in vines and flowers. She could also make out the now broken symbol of Pelor on one of the remaining walls.

She heard a woosh above her head and turned around in time to see her swan gently land next to the lake. She tip-toed closer to get a closer look at it.

A light started to come from the swan, magic swirling around it so brightly that Vex had hard time looking at it. She readied her bow and watched as the light slowly died.

A man was standing where the swan once stood. Vex aimed out of reflex but didn’t let go of the arrow, eyes wide in shock.

“What the fuck.”


	2. Act 2, Scene 1

“What the fuck.”

The man turned around, scared, and saw her where she was crouching with her bow. Her heart was racing and she wasn’t entirely sure what was happening. He immediately took a more defensive stance, placing himself between her and the not-frozen lake.

He had his hand stretched out and Vex prepared for a magic attack…but nothing happened.

So here they were, a man and Vex, confused and staring each other in the middle of the night. It was cold and Vex still wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. The snow crunched behind her and she heard Trinket walk in, growling.

The man, upon seeing the big brown bear, took a step back but didn’t do anything else. His gaze was going back and forth between Trinket, her and her bow, waiting for one of them to do something.

“Hush, Trinket.” She whispered and then swallowed. Alright then. She lowered her bow and then dropped it to the ground.

“I-I’m Vex.” She said. “I’m….not entirely sure what the fuck is going on but-uh…I’m not, I’m not going to hurt you.”

He furrowed his brows and then cocked his chin towards Trinket.

“Oh, that’s Trinket!” she smiled, more from nerves than anything else. “He’s my bear, he won’t hurt you, either.”

There was a long pause of silence. Vex held her breathe and tried to calculate how fast she could grab her bow and fire if things turned bad. Trinket could definetly hurt him before she could and with that thought in mind, she readied her order. The man dropped his arm and after a moment, nodded.

“Alright.” He said, voice deep, and then, with a face that definetely showed regret, “I trust you.”

She exhaled, the tension in her shoulders disappearing. This was something she could work with. But she still had Trinket’s order in mind, just in case.

“Can I come closer?” she asked, curiosity taking control over fear now.He raised his chin, narrowing his eyes. He still didn’t trust her, understandibly so. She doubted she would trust a seeming hunter had she been a swan turning into a human.

“You promise to not attack?” he asked and she could hear his accent now, undeniable there and noble in his voice. “And your bear, ofcourse.”

She blinked, “As long as you don’t harm me, I promise I will not harm you.” She said.

“Very well then.” He replied, “You can come closer if you wish.” She did.

She was very careful to not move suddenly as she walked up to him, putting on her best behaviour. And the closer she got the more apparent it became that he was –currently- a human man. A very handsome human man with white hair and incredible blue eyes that shone under the moonlight.

He was also wearing very little. A simple white blouse and black pants. Despite wearing nearly nothing the cold didn’t seem to bother him meanwhile Vex, wearing clothes made for winter with two cloaks, could feel the chill settle in her bones. There was bird skull that hung from his neck which only caught her attention when she was close enough.

She smiled to ease him, although she wasn’t sure how much it actually helped.

“So,” she said. “Are you a human that turns into a swan or a swan that turns into a human?”

His brows rose up and he let out the smallest huff. Apparently he didn’t think she would ask that. But she could see that he still didn’t trust her, nor did he have any good reason to. But Vex could make this work.

“Human.” He answered. “I turn into a swan.”

“That…must suck, I guess.” She said. “Of all the animals.”

“I didn’t _chose_ to turn into a swan.” He said.

“I could have told you that too, who would willingly choose to turn into a swan?” she said but a name did pop up. “Oh wait, I might know someone.”

“You are taking this much better than I thought.” He said, tilting his head to side.

“Magic is weird.” She replied. “Trust me, it’s not the weirdest thing I’ve seen.” Oh no, that would be flying cows. “Can you control it?”

“No.” He answered. “Every midnight I turn into a human and every dawn…” he trailed off.

“I’m sorry.” She said, genuinely. “Aren’t you cold?”

“Hm?” he looked down to clothes and opened his mouth in realisation. “Oh, no, weather doesn’t seem to affect me anymore. I think it’s the only good thing to come out of this curse.”

Now they were going somewhere.

“Curse?” she asked and he winced. He’d realised he’d shared too much with someone he didn’t necessarily trust. “Who did this to you? Maybe I can help.”

“I doubt you can.” He said, slowly walking away from her. She followed, signalling Trinket to wait.

“I can try.” She said. “How long has it been? I know very powerful arcanists, I can ask them for help.” She carried on as convincing as she could be. She knew for a fact Allura and Gilmore were coming to the feast. If they didn’t know a way to help lift the curse, they would know someone who did.

“I don’t think they would allow the curse to be lifted.” He said as he looked to the ground.

“You’re not making this any less confusing to me.” She huffed. “Can’t you just tell me everything?”

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. Vex waited, there wasn’t much she could do. She looked around the lake, trying to see if she could spot any traps. There weren’t any, all she could see were marks where a bird, a swan, must have walked recently.

“Five years ago my family was killed.” He said suddenly. “And when I tried to run away, the sorcerer cast this curse. I don’t know anything else about it.”

Vex stared at him, taking in the information. He also looked at her in a certain way, as if waiting for her to figure it all out.

“What’s your name.” She finally asked.

“Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo the Third.” He said the entire thing in one go.

“de Rolo.” She repeated.

“You can call me Percy, if you want.” He added.

“That’s much faster to say.” She said. “But I-I don’t understand…” she shook her head, trying to piece what little information she had about Whitestone. But the more she thought about it she realised how much she didn’t actually know.

“Briarwoods said-“ she said and stopped when Percy flinched at the names. She connected the dots rather easily after that. “Did they….were they the ones-“

“They-“he sighed, closing his eyes. “They came for dinner. I didn’t know much about them back then, I still don’t. By the end of the night…there was no one else left but me and my sister.” She nodded slowly,

“Is she the one hiding right now?”

His eyes snapped open to her, wide and scared. “How did you know-“

“I’m a pretty good ranger.” She replied. “You were rather protective, also there are too many foot steps here, bird steps I mean. Does your sister not turn back to human?”

“She…she can.” He said. “Just, not every day. A few times every month, if she’s lucky. And she cannot ever leave the lake side.”

“Fuck.” She muttered.

Briarwoods had been so nice to them. Well, Lady Delilah atleast had been. Vex also knew that many noble houses in Tal’Dorei trusted the couple. The story of the de Rolo familys death and the shocking revelation that they had left their home to them had been huge news years ago. But they were kind people. That’s what everyone always said.

“You are not from here.” He cut the silence. “There are no rangers in Whitestone, not anymore atleast."

“No, you’re correct.” She said. “I’m from Syngorn.”

He furrowed his brows again, no doubt trying to figure out what a woman from Syngorn of all places was doing in Whitestone. Either that or he was trying to figure out what Syngorn was.

“Why so far away from home?” he asked.

“Syngorn is not my home.” She said. No, her home was dust and ash now. “It’s simply where I have to live. I’m here because my asshole father thought it would be grand idea. He also wants Lady Briarwood to find me someone to marry.”

“That is terrible.” He said and she wasn’t quite sure if he was being honest and sarcastic. “But why here?”

“Oh, the Briarwoods are throwing a feast.” She answered. “I think it’s more of a masquarade but details. I just know that I travelled like a week to put on a fancy dress.”

“How kind of Briarwoods to invite people in here.” He said dryly and she could see his brain working.

“You are certain they did this to you?” she asked.

“It was a dark sorcerer who did this to me.” He said. “But it was them who murdered my family.”

She nodded, “It’s settled then.”

“Wait, what-“

“I will help you.” She cut him off. “You don’t really get to have a say in this. I’m putting my foot down.”

“You just met me,” he said, baffled. “Why are you so adamant about helping me?”

“It’s what I do.” She said. Honestly, she wasn’t sure why. But he had a curse on him and his sister and his entire family murdered. She didn’t walk off when a swan had turned into a human, she certainly wasn’t walking away when that human revealed his tragedy. “And I won’t be alone in this.” She carried on. “I have my brother and he’s very sneaky. Not to mention rest of Vox Machina will be attending the feast, along with very powerful people I know.”

“Vox Machina?”

“Good people.”

He shook his head, still confused but eventually he sighed. He waved a hand, “Fine. I’m mostly curious as to how you think you can help me but fine. I’ll let you help us.”

“Good!” she grinned. “Would you be okay with me bringing my brother here tomorrow? I don’t think he would believe me if I just told him what happened without proof. He might think I fucking with him.”

“To be honest he still might think that when he comes here.” He replied. “But sure. There isn’t much else I can lose.”

“Don’t worry, we will be very careful.”

“You should go back now.” He said. “You look cold.”

“Well, I am! Are you seriously not affected by the cold?” she said and pulled off her glove, grabbing his hand.

He took a step back instinctively but kept his gaze on her. Vex completely missed the way he was looking at her, too busy inspecting his hands. Because he wasn’t lying, he was as warm as a person could be while she, wearing layers of clothing and gloves, was freezing. She let go of him and he gingerly pulled it back, rubbing his fingers where hers touched a second ago.

“I will come back tomorrow with my brother.” She said. “I kinda feel bad leaving you here tho.”

“I’ve been here for five years.” He said. “I have my sister. Don’t worry, another night won’t make too much of a difference.”

“No, no.” She shook her head, trying to find a solution. And the solution came to her in the form of a big brown bear.

She looked back at him and then to Trinket and then back to him.

“No, your bear-“

“Is staying here so he can protect you and your sister from evil.” She cut him off and smiled. “Please?”

“I-uh.” He looked at her and whatever argument he was preparing fell apart. “Alright, alright.” He sighed. “If it’s going to make you feel better.”

“It already makes me feel so much better.” She grinned and turned to her bear. “Trinket!”

The bear in question groaned and looked at her, tilting it’s head.

“You will stay with Percy and protect him!”

Trinket nodded and flopped down to the snow, enjoying the cold, unlike his master. She turned back to him and smiled even wider.

“Don’t worry, he has manners.”

“Oh, fantastic, a bear with manners.” He deadpanned.

She hugged him. Arms around his neck, standing on her tip-toes, and it shut him up. She could feel him tense up and awkwardly place his hands on her sides, uncertain what to do. She pulled back and looked him deep in the eye.

“I will help you, Percy.” She said. “I will come back tomorrow night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter made me realise how much sense the ballet doesnt makes the DUDE JUST FALLS IN LOVE WITH GIRL like, damn. So I tried most of my time to make sense out of ballet-fairy-tail logic, hope it works my dudes


	3. Act 2, Scene 2

Vex’ahlia slept most of the next day,waking up late noon. It had taken her a while to get back to Whitestone proper, her mind had been too busy with Percy and Briarwoods. She didn’t exactly remember falling asleep,she barely remembered finding her room honestly.But she was glad to see that her sleepy self had atleast changed her clothes before going to bed.

Putting on something respectable for the day, she left her room. She had quite a bit of work to do and she wasn’t truly sure what she had to do. She had to tell her brother about Percy certainly but that was the extent of her plan. It was something.

She also knew she should probably apologise to Briarwoods for being such a shit guest who goes out and returns at ungodly hours who sleeps in all day. She didn’t want to talk to them after what Percy said but a part of her brain was gnawing at her, repeating Lady Delilah Briarwood’ name in her head.

Later, she decided. She would talk to her after her brother.

One might think that finding a rogue as talented as Vax, one who was capable of blending in where ever he wanted, would be hard. But Vex knew him better than anyone else in the world, perhaps more than he knew himself. So, obviously, he was at the local tavern. Not even slightly trying to hide himself.

“Good morning sleepy.” He said casually. “I’ve food coming shortly.”

“Oh, wonderful.” She said. She hadn’t eaten since they had arrived and her stomache was making it very clear that it didn’t enjoy that. “How was it last night without me?”

“Boring.” He said. “Spent most of my day in town, people are very nice. Helped some people prepare for the feast. Briarwoods were a bit worried when you didn’t return. They almost sent out guards to find you but I told them this was normal. And that their guards wouldn’t be able to track you anyway.” He ended with a laugh.

“Yeah, I should perhaps apologise for that.” She grimaced.

“I don’t think they were angry or anything, just worried.” He replied. “And you didn’t miss much, other than the most delicious turkey I’ve had in ages. Food here is nice.”

On cue, a waitress with a huge smile arrived, serving them their plates and drinks. Vex didn’t even bother checking what it was before wolfing down on it.

“You’re gonna choke.” Vax said, eating his food in normal sizes, chewing the right amount.

Vex flipped him off.

“What did you even do all night?”

She stopped and actually chewed the meat in her mouth. She could feel some sort of juice dribbling down her chin that she couldn’t really bother to swipe. “So, uhm.” She stopped and surveyed the room. Everyone else –and it was a full tavern- were minding their own business. Yet she didn’t trust to openly share, just incase someone were to hear it.

“I found something very interesting actually.” She said. “You wanna come with me tonight?”

Her brother gave her a look. He kept his casual face and shrugged.

“Sure, why not.”

“Nice.”

They stayed in the tavern for a while, enjoying the warmth of the place and the background chatter. They paid the owner, gathered their things and then went on their own way. Vax said he had promised a group of kids he would teach them how to throw daggers and he wanted to do good on his word. Which meant she would have to talk to Briarwoods alone.

She asked a maid in the castle where they might be and learned that while Lord Briarwood was handling some private matter, the Lady was in her study making sure all the guests for the upcoming feast had a place to stay.

Vex made her way to the study and gently knocked. After a beat she heard the muffled voice of the Lady calling her in. The door opened with an annoying creak and Lady Delilah looked up from her papers. She gave a bright smile when she saw Vex, putting down her quill and sitting straight.

“Vex’ahlia, I’m so happy to see you’re alright.” She said, motioning her to come closer. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Vex felt a weight off of her shoulders, relaxing at the sight of the beautiful woman. Her heart calmed down and she gave a small curtsy.

“I’m sorry for bothering your work, my Lady.” She started. “I just wanted to apologise for disappearing yesterday and sleeping late in. It was incredibly rude of me to do that and-“

Delilah raised and and shook her head, immediately shushing Vex. “Child, no.” She said sweetly. “Don’t worry about it. I know very well how much you love the wilderness and if you enjoyed the forest enough to lose track of time, I’m simply glad you were having fun out there.”

Vex smiled out of disbelief. Lady Delilah was so kind and considerate. She didn’t know what to say and nodded.

“If the forest is where you feel at ease, please, do as you wish.” She carried on. “I do not wish to trap my guests in the castle. I think we can both agree that this castle can be quite boring. Do not worry about being late or sleeping too much.”

“Thank you, my Lady.” She said, feeling warm all over. “Uhm, sorry for interrupting your work. I guess I should-“ she pointed to the door, awkwardly. Lady gave a small huff of laughter motioned for her to leave.

She spent rest of the day unpacking her things and making sure her gown for the feast wasn’t damaged from the trip. Once she was done with that she sat infront of the fireplace in her room and read a book.

When the sun started to go down, she changed her clothes, grabbed her cloak, bows and arrows and set out to find her brother in the town. For her luck, he had already stopped teaching little kids how to throw sharp things and seemingly had been waiting for her.

Without saying much to each other they walked to the forest.

“Gods, how far is this place you’re taking me.” Vax complained.

“We still have a bit of walking to do.” She said. They had been walking for hours, sun long gone, and Vax wasn’t a very happy camper. The snow was thick in places, making it hard for them to keep a steady pace, or rather, for him. Vex had no problem with the ice and snow and other things the forest offered.

“If you’re trying to kill me just do it.” He said, shaking his left leg that was drenched now. “Where are you even taking me?”

“Look, the other night I found this lake.” She said, holding his hand so he wouldn’t fall into a snowpit again, leading him carefully.

“Great, a lake.”

“Shut up.” She said, dragging him a bit. “Look it’s…a bit hard to explain alright? You’ll see when you get there.”

“Alright, alright.” He sighed. “Take me to the lake.”

They spent few more hours walking, resting whenever Vax complained too much. She couldn’t really be angry at him for that, after all she was used to walking miles on miles, she had trained herself for durability. He was out of his element in this forest and he was actually doing much better than she had originaly anticipated.

Finally, Vex spotted the building and signalled to his brother to be silent. He nodded, crouching down. She looked around, finding no signs of Trinket. She frowned but didn’t worry. She couldn’t expect a bear to spend his entire time around a lake, he would get bored.

She sneaked around, Vax following her, to get a better view of the lake. There was a swan, swimming around, but Vex could tell it wasn’t Percy. This one was smaller. The sister, she guessed.

Next to her Vax was also looking but he was more confused than before. He opened his mouth to say something but when she heard wing flaps, she motioned him to shut up. Percy had arrived, still in swan form. The smaller swan swam closer to him, quacking a welcome.

Vex put a hand on her brothers shoulder, keeping him in place. She could see that he was still confused as to why she had made him walk this long to just show him some swans.

Little did he know he would only get more confused.

After few beats of nothing, the area around Pery started to glow. Bright light began to radiate from him, blinding the twins for short period. Vex blinked and saw Percy stand tall in his human form. Next to her, Vax was staring.

She stood up, making sure she was making some amount of noise to not scare Percy. He and his sister –she assumed- turned their heads in her direction.

“Hey!” she said, “I brought my brother with me!”

Still staring and definitely more confused than he was mere seconds ago, Vax stood up, gaping. Vex held his hand and dragged him closer to Percy.

“Where is my bear?” she asked.

“He is playing around.” Percy replied, looking at her brother. “I’m certain he’s safe.”

“He is a very brave bear.” She smiled and then patted Vax. “So! This is my brother, Vax.”

Percy looked at her, “Vex and Vax?”

“You don’t get to judge.”

“I am not at all judging.” He answered and nodded at Vax as a greeting.

“Is this your sister?” she looked at the smaller swan.

“Yes, this is Cassandra.”

“What the fuck?!” Percy and Vex and Cassandra turned to the bewildered Vax’ildan. He was standing a foot behind his sister, dagger in hand, eyes and mouth wide open. He was glancing between the two infront of him, occasionally he would glance at the swan.

“This is what I found, brother.” Vex said. “This is Percival and the swan is his sister Cassandra. They were cursed.” She explained matter of factly. He licked his lips.

“ _What?”_

“See this is the normal reaction to a swan turning into a person.” Percy said to Vex. “Not yours.”

“Is it really?” she said. “Brother, we were cows at one point, is it really that shocking to have someone be cursed into a swan?”

“I-I mean-“ he stopped himself, sheating his daggers. “ _Fucking_ magic.”

“That I agree with.” Percy said.

“Why are you cursed, what happened?” Vax said. As usual, once he got over the shock of it all, he wanted to help.

“I’m not entirely sure myself.” Percy said. “I don’t know who put the curse on me. Just that my sister and I turn into swans and we cannot permenantly leave this lake.”

“Your sister.” Vax looked down at the swan, who quacked at him. “Yes, sure. But you’re human now? Why isn’t she?”

“She sometimes can transform back but it is rare. We’re not sure why the curse affects us differently.”

“That’s…something.” Vax muttered.

“There is one more thing, brother.” Vex tentatively said, quickly looking at Percy to see if he was alright with it. He gave a nod. “Percy is a de Rolo.”

There was a second of silence.

“What?”

“A de Rolo.” Vex repeated. “Y’know, like the de Rolo’s of Whitestone, that died, from plague or something?”

“What…the hell.” He said. “But the Briarwoods-“

“Killed the rest of my family.” Percy spoke up. “I haven’t been able to go back to the city but I’m assuming that’s not what they said.”

“No.” Twins both replied.

“But the Briarwoods are so nice.” Vax said, still confused. The moment he said that Vex’s eyes widened.

“They are.” She said. “Whenever I talk to them –well, to Lady Briarwood, I haven’t met the Lord- that’s all I can think about.”

“Really?” Percy asked. Twins nodded.

“They have this easy-going thing going on.” Vax said. “I feel like I could talk to them about anything.”

“Today I went to talk to Delilah to apologise about being a rude guest but then I was so calm when she started to speak…infact I kinda completely forgot about you and your family.” She furrowed her brows. “I didn’t do anything for the rest of the day.”

“That’s concerning.” Percy muttered. “Maybe they can charm people?”

“It’s a possibility.” Vax said. “But if they are responsible for your family’s death why would they throw a grand feast? Wouldn’t it be better for them to do opposite?”

“I agree.” Percy said. “The only reason I can think of is that they have a bigger plan at play.”

“Maybe that’s why you are cursed and not dead.” Vex said. “It’s part of the plan.”

“What kind of plan would consist having two de Rolo’s turn into swans?” Percy asked.

“I mean, why did they kill your family in the first place?” Vax asked.

“I don’t know, they came one night, seeking refuge from the bad weather and we welcomed them. By the end of the night everyone else was dead. Cassandra helped me escape from the dungeon and this is as far as we got.”

“I think you being cursed wasn’t entirely planned.” Vex said. “You said it was an evil sorcerer, yeah? Maybe they said hey, evil sorcerer, make sure no one escapes and the guy said sure and the entire swan thing is him just fucking with you.”

“Perhaps.” Percy said. “It would make sense if they didn’t know we were still here. They never come here to check us. And also, I’m certain they would have banned you from going to the woods in the first place.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Vax said. “With you in the forest and me hanging out in the city they would be all alone in the castle and do their evil things.”

“But wouldn’t the people know?” Vex asked.

“The head of the guards helped them kill.” Percy said.

“And the townfolk didn’t really seem to know that much. I think they believe the lies, especially if they charm people.” Vax said. “I’ll dig around tomorrow.”

“That might raise suspicions.” Percy said.

“Nah, I’ll just ask what kind of bad fate fell upon the de Rolo’s and if it’s contagious.” Vax shrugged. “Nothing big. I don’t think it will be a problem unless we ask Briarwoods themselves.”

“I suppose.” Percy muttered.

“We’ll try to learn more about the feast.” Vex said. “Vax will be in the town and I’ll be in the castle doing my best as a guest.”

“Not to mention the rest of the party will start arriving soon.” Vax said. “I’m sure Keyleth is bored where ever she is.”

“I haven’t seen any signs of her but maybe she went back.” She said. “But yes, the rest of the part is coming and I’m sure they will love the idea of breaking a curse.”

“Are you sure that bringing in other people is a good idea?” Percy asked.

“You brought me in and I brought my brother in, darling.” She said and winked. “It’s too late now, we’re invested.” Behind her, her brother was nodding.

“Very well. Be careful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah that took longer than it should have, sorry


End file.
